edporsche

I just noticed yesterday that when the car is cold, the redline is 5500 RPMs. When the car is at normal temp, the redline changes to 6500 RPMs. It's cool I guess. The manual is very clear. It does not want the car to be driven hard till the temp gets to normal (mid way). I just would never be that aggressive anyway since the manual says that.

Having said that...

My 911 has no admonishment in the manual. I usually don't go crazy till it gets a little warm, but on occasion I have been known to play around. The 911 manual says something like, "after the car is started, drive off right away." 911 is such a fun car to drive. I still can't believe I get to drive my C2S.

One final thought.

6500 RPM redline seems a little low to me. I would expect it to be 7000+

GiantEli

BMW has been doing the variable redline for a few years...it makes a ton of sense and may even go hand in hand with the notion of "don't wait for your car to 'warm up' after starting".

The instinct many drivers must have to wait a minute or more before driving off in a cold-started car is nonsense. Modern engine management can take care of a cold engine, while driving right away gets the rest of the systems going in lockstep. Visual cues (higher idle at start, lower redline) may help change that behavior.

RobC

I don't wait for the motor to "warm up" to temperature, but I do wait for the fast idle to drop to normal. During the rich, fast idle I can feel stumbles and vibration in the car and use this time to pull the car out of the garage.

Ed-- since the NA 4.2 motor has a higher redline I suspect that Audi may have limited ours to 6.5K since the turbos may be out of their efficiency range or they're limiting the boost at the top. On the B5S4 platform all the tuners raised the stock redline. I think it was 7100 RPM with GIAC.

DeerHunter

IMO, Audi should have been more conservative with the variable redline. On all my cars, I typically don't exceed 3,000 rpm until the oil is up to temperature (which is usually some time after coolant temp stabilizes). Once the oil is warm, you know that all the metal bits have expanded to their final size and no undue wear and tear will occur.

I always cringe when I hear someone drive off from a cold start with a heavy throttle. No mechanical empathy whatsoever.

Harsany

As I do not drive my cars hard when they are cold. I don't idle them until they are warm either. We are not talking about a 327CI V8 in a 1960 corvette. New performance engines have superior technology in regards to construction, lubrication and fuel delivery. Synthetic oils have also helped immensely as the viscosty is more pliable as they oil warms.(more lubrication prior to optimal operating temperture versus conventional oil)

DeerHunter

I don't idle to warm up the car either (it tends to dilute the oil with fuel). Synthetics do provide better protection at start-up and a wider range of viscosity, I agree, but the engine, tranny and diff are not dimensionally stable until the oil is completely up to temp. This is the primary reason I drive like a grandpa until things are nice 'n toasty.

Dr.Aronis

The redline in the A8 version is 6k. Interesting.

DeerHunter

The 4.0T in the S8 has a fatter torque curve (444 lb-ft) than the S6. Peak power is the same, but at 5,000 rpm (vs. 5,500-6,400 in the S6). Makes me think the A8 either has different cams or smaller, more responsive turbos (or both).

cagambler

My 2000 M5 may have been the first to have the variable yellow line (red line always stays at 7,000). When the engine is cold, the tach shows that you should not exceed 4,000. The lights proceed higher as it warms. It goes to normal (yellow at 6,500 I believe) when the oil temperature is showing at about 150 degrees.

Back when manufacturers didn't care about fuel mileage, I also liked that instead of specifying 10w-30, the specification is a Castrol 10w-60.

I baby it until it is warmed up, but then with 162,000 on the clutch, I baby it pretty much all the time.

I'm assuming the S6 will have the same feel the M5 does. What I call an autobahn cruiser. It's not the car you own if you want to tear up two-lane back roads.

edporsche

You, sir feel exactly the same way as I do. I appreciate your comments. My S6 is a cruising machine. It makes me happy on the highway. Tonight, on the way home from work, I got on it (after warm) and my wife said on the phone, "what is that?!" She heard it via the Bluetooth phone from the "Dynamic" driving.

I said, "baby, that's me ... a bad M* F*" She started howling with laughter with my pulp fiction prose.

My 911 is for true craziness and tearing up the road. I bought the 7 yr/100k warranty on the S6, and I want to drive it longer than that. I feel I adopt the personality of the car.

"Say what again!"
"do you mind if I have a drink of your tasty beverage?"
"Ok honey bunny"
"...normally that would be your *ss, but you got me in a transitional period..."